10 Things You Need to Know Before Season 2 of Shooter

Bob Lee Swagger is still using his skills to protect democracy when Shooter returns for a second season. Here are some highlights from season one.

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10 Things You Need to Know Before Season 2 of Shooter

Posted on 7/17/17

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Bob Lee Swagger is back. America’s favorite sniper is still using his skills to protect democracy when Shooter returns for a second season. You can watch the entire first season of Shooter before then but here are some highlights: Who Bob Lee is, why they need him, who tried to frame him and how he saves the day.

[Warning: Contains Spoilers for Shooter Season One]

1. There Are Nine Bob Lee Swagger Books

If you want some homework, Stephen Hunter wrote nine books about Swagger. Shooter is based on Point of Impact, which was written in 1993. Bob Lee Swagger (Ryan Phillippe) was a Vietnam veteran in the book. In updating the story, Swagger is now a veteran of Afghanistan and deals with the War on Terror.

2. Mark Wahlberg Played Swagger In The Movie

Point of Impact was adapted into the movie Shooter, where many of the updates to the book were made. Wahlberg was the first to play Bob Lee Swagger, but now he’s an executive producer and passed the rifle to Ryan Philippe.

3. Bob Lee’s An Expert In Guns

After sniper duty in Afghanistan, Bob Lee Swagger was the wrong guy to frame for a shooting. Only one bullet could make the shot that killed the Ukrainian President, and Bob Lee Swagger could trace it back to the only gun that could fire it.

4. He Defies Orders

In a firefight in Afghanistan, Swagger ignored orders to abort so he could take out a rocket launcher to save the lives of another squad. He claimed the radio malfunctioned, and took a shift on radio duty to pay lip service to fixing the radios. All along, his superiors knew it wasn‘t the radio. Later, he moved locations to give himself a shot that ultimately saved Isaac Johnson (Omar Epps)’s own life. That’s where Hugh Meachum (Tom Sizemore) discovered Swagger in the first place, but you can bet Swagger won’t do what he’s told when they ask him to play the fall guy.

5. The Cover-Up Was A CIA Plot To Kill The Ukrainian President

Swagger was initially asked to consult on protecting the President of the United States from a potential assassination. The conspirators shot the President of Ukraine instead, and Bob Lee had to find out why.

6. Agent Memphis Was On Swagger’s Side

The FBI kept telling Agent Nadine Memphis (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to go by the book and help them apprehend Swagger. She knew something didn’t add up. She believed Swagger and proved a vital ally in helping him root out the real shooters.

7. Swagger Has A Family

His wife Julie Swagger (Shantel VanSanten) and daughter Mary are everything to Bob Lee, so he will do anything to keep them safe and return to them. His family also includes Donny, his best friend who was killed by a Chechan sniper in Afghanistan. This is how they roped Swagger in. Johnson told him Solitov, the Chechan sniper, was the suspect in the potential presidential assassination. Johnson killed Donnie's Mom too to cover loose ends. Not cool, Johnson.

8. Lon Scott Was The Real Shooter

Swagger traced the Black King rifle, the only gun that could fire the red bullet that took out the Ukrainian President, back to Lon Scott. Scott wasn’t political. He just wanted to prove he could make the shot. Krukov gave him the opportunity. Swagger ultimately planted an explosive bullet in Scott’s stash, taking him out once and for all.

9. Johnson Was NSA The Whole Time

In the end, Johnson was working with the NSA, revealed by NSA Advisor Gregson (Beverly D’Angelo) in the season finale. They think there’s more to the conspiracy than Meachum and Krukov. Epps is back for season two so we’ll see what Johnson has up his sleeve, hopefully as an ally this time.

10. Swagger Cleared His Name

Most importantly, after a season on the run, Bob Lee Swagger got to go home to Julie and Mary. He saved his kidnapped daughter from Krukov and stopped Krukov before he could hurt his wife. He proved the firing pin on his gun was shaved so it could not have taken any shot at all. But what will bring him out of retirement in season two?